"Crime must have no home," says UNODC Chief ahead of Vienna Conference on transnational organized crime

VIENNA, 10 October - The Head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Yury Fedotov, said next week's meeting of the Conference of the Parties in Vienna was crucial in terms of combating transnational organized crime across the globe.

Noting next year was the tenth anniversary of the UN Convention on Transnational Organized Crime's entry into force, Mr. Fedotov said the Conference, held between 15 and 19 October, provided a welcome opportunity for reflection on how the international community aims to confront crime in the future.

"We must understand that crime is largely opportunistic. When challenged it is capable of disappearing from one country and reappearing fully formed in another. If successes are to be durable and long lasting, we need to emphasize a global approach; one that denies transnational crime a home anywhere. This means carefully building commitment among Member States, and then working closely with them to deliver integrated activities that recognize crime's adaptive nature," said Mr. Fedotov.

Transnational organized crime is estimated to generate around USD$870 billion every year, undermining sustainable development and taking advantage of vulnerable countries where the rule of law and governance are weak. From this figure, illicit drugs generates around US$320 billion, while others such as human and wildlife trafficking, illegal logging, trafficking in firearms and cybercrime are also worth billions of dollars.

The Vienna Conference will be attended by around 800 people. More than 20 side events are set to discuss a variety of organized crimes related issues ranging from serious and organized crime threat assessments, to trafficking in persons and firearms. A press conference organized on 15 October, at 12:15 p.m., Vienna International Centre, M2, will be attended by UNODC Executive Director, Yury Fedotov; the Austrian Minister for Justice, Beatrix Karl, the Mexican Minister of Interior, Alejandro Poiré. Others are to be confirmed.

A new global awareness-raising campaign emphasizing the size and cost of transnational organized crime was launched by UNODC earlier this year. To view the video go to: http://www.unodc.org/toc/en/videos.html